Fallout x Reader Fanfiction

Queen of the Rodeo (cooper howard x fem!reader)

"I'll buy you your next couple drinks if you get up on that bull." Cooper says, a toothy grin so giddy and mischievous.

I give him a "you're serious?" look and he nods. "Alright. You're losing, like, thirty dollars here." I shrug as if he wasn't a movie star that could afford a round for the whole bar two times over.

I head over to the bull ring and wait behind one other person who's in line. The current rider lasted two minutes, and when the guy in front of me went, he lasted two and a half. If that's been the average, I'm going for at least three and a half. I sign a waiver and climb the mechanical beast.

The first minute goes well. I keep a steady hand on the handle and mirror the wave motions the bull moves in. It gradually gets harder and one of the rules is you have to have one hand up in the air. That's probably the whole factor why so many people fall off.

But I managed to get past the two minute mark. I'm spinning rapidly in jagged circles, but I can catch a glimpse of Cooper standing at the fence now cheering me on.

I can no longer see the digital clock as I'm too focused on my grip. Eventually it's too hard and I wipe out onto the cushioning on the ground below. People clap and congrats me on my attempt. When I stand and steady myself, I glance at the clock as the announcer praises my time. Four and a half minutes!

I celebrate my record, exiting the ride and pushing past people to find Cooper. He comes into view as he's looking for me too and he has a bigger smile than before. "I did it!" I yell, raising my arms up in victory.

"That was spectacular!" Cooper embraces me in a big hug, lifting me off the floor for a second. We sit back at our table, myself taking a twenty from him to buy another cocktail. Winning has never felt so sweet.

After that fun night out, Cooper invited me back to his house to sober up. "We can't be showing up to set tomorrow hungover." He said on the drive back. We met through his previous western. I was the costume designer and those hours of measurements and fittings gave us time to get to know each other. I'm lucky to be working with him.

We sit in the dimly lit living room as we down glasses of water and snack on some pretzels. He put a record player on that plays soft almost lullaby-like jazz, which kind of made the atmosphere very sensual.

"Tonight was really nice, thank you for it." Cooper says, leaning an arm on the headrest of the couch to face me.

"Ah, I should be thanking you. I became rodeo royalty." I laugh, pointing to the plastic cowboy hat with "new record holder" on the front and the time written next to it in permanent marker.

Cooper seems amused, tapping the rim of it. "It suits you." His words were quiet as his eyes peer into mine.

To divert from him being able to notice the heat rising in my face, I mention his wardrobe. "Got any hat's of yours I can try on?"

He takes me to his bedroom upstairs and shows me a couple of hats he got to keep from previous films. Roosevelt, his dog, also greeted me which was a lovely surprise to see him.

"This is a very special one." Cooper holds a black cowboy hat in his hands out to me.

"Oh, I remember this one! You played a redeemed outlaw." I smile as I put it on, facing the full length mirror. "The outfit shades changing from dark to light as he went along his journey was a masterpiece of a detail." I watch him stand off to the side, admiring me as I try out different angles of the hat. I turn to him asking if he remembers the people involved.

He sadly forgot their names as it has been a couple years since then. I give him back the hat and try on another, geeking out about the embroidered details at the base. He enjoys hearing my thoughts and talking more in depth behind the scenes.

As I tried and gave back the third hat, Cooper leaned forward and kissed my cheek. I'm thrown off and look at him. A burst of happy surprise takes over me, giving me a hard time hiding my grin. "What was that for?" I ask.

"Getting to spend time with you tonight has been nothing but amazing. You love what you do and can talk circles around people. I can't get enough of it. Your eyes quite literally light up." He really means it.

I feel the same heat in my face again, causing me to glance away from his stare. "Oh, well... that is really nice of you, Coop. Thank you."

His hand reaches up, using his index finger to lift my chin. "May I have the honor of kissing you?" He chuckles quietly and it makes me do so as well.

"That was cheesy as hell." I tease.

I accept and get closer to him. He kisses me with a soft, first time kind of feel and places his other hand on my waist. My heart pounds in my chest so hard I think I can hear it. Or maybe that's him?

Some minutes pass and it eventually becomes hotter. At first it feels like the room, but obviously it's just us. We undress to our bare bodies and get under the covers of his bed. There was a moment of humor when he had asked Roosevelt to get out because he was staring at us.

Cooper holds me close in his arms, my head laying on his chest as I listen along to his heartbeat. The house is quiet, the record player downstairs faint yet still audible from here. His fingers caress circles on my back and he places little pecks on the crown of my head every couple minutes.

"You know what?" He starts.

I hum in response, tracing lines up and down his side with my thumb.

"This was the perfect time to do this since you had practice with that bull."

I can just sense the cheeky smile on his face. "Cooper!" I scoff at his joke, laughing with him after. If this is the start of our relationship, I'm guessing there will be more banter to come. And honestly, I wouldn't want it any other way.